Busy roads take asthma toll

Nearly one in ten children with asthma gets the illness because they live near a busy road, according to a new study.

Researchers found young sufferers living near traffic are also more likely to develop severe asthma and be hospitalised as a result of their condition.

Doctors at the University of Southern California looked at the effects of air pollution on children suffering from asthma living in Los Angeles.

Using air pollution measurements to estimate exposure to road pollution, they found that 8 per cent of children who developed asthma lived within 75 metres of a busy road.